Many soil release agents have been developed for synthetic fibers and fabrics, e.g. the copolymers of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid as in Dacron, Fortrel, Kodel and Blue C Polyester. The hydrophobicity of these polyesters makes them difficult to launder, particularly when heavily soiled with oil or grease deposits which preferentially wet the fabric as opposed to entering the aqueous laundering medium.
Among the leading soil release agents developed for laundering purposes are the polyesters exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,962,152; 3,416,952; 4,132,680; 4,201,824; 4,423,557; 4,349,688; 3,959,230; 3,893,929; 3,712,873; and 4,116,885. Generally these agents are polymers containing polyester and terephthalate and/or urethane groups to improve water compatability. However, all of these soil release agents have a common failing in that they possess no softening properties. Accordingly, separate compounds must be incorporated in their formulations or added to the washing or rinsing cycle when hand modification is required. Additionally such soil release agents, because of their polyester substantivity, have a tendency to build up on the fabric after several washings. This build up of soil release residue often lead to yellowing of the textile substrates.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to overcome the above deficiencies by economical and commercially feasible means.
Another object is to impart soil release, softening and antistatic properties to a fiber or fabric by the use of a single compound.
Another object is to simplify the formulation of laundering compositions and to minimize residue build-up.
Still another object is to provide novel compounds which can be synthesized by an economical process.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and disclosure.